Talk:Battle of Garigliano

Military history: European / Italian / Medieval

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"Chrsitian League" edit

I changed the description of the Christian participants in the battle from "the Christian League" to "Christian forces", as "the Christian League" implies a more coherent and unified Christian force than actually existed. The whole alliance was a very ad hoc arrangement, singularly created by the very strong leading figures of the region for the sole purpose of driving the Saracen raiders out of this mountain stronghold, cf. Liudprand of Cremona's account in his Antapodosis, 2.51ff. In comparison, King Hugh of Italy allied with the Byzantine emperor in 940-1 with the aim of eliminating the Saracens of Fraxinetum in southern France, but withdrew from the alliance after an initial and successful battle, choosing instead (at least according to Liudprand's not necessarily very objective account) to spare the Saracens and use them to defend the mountain passes against his rival Berengar (II), at the time in exile at Otto I's court in Germany. Cf. the NCMH III, 606: "Only after skilfull negotiation and manoeuvering by Nicholas Picingli, the strategos of Longibardia, and by Pope John X, could the lords of Gaeta and Naples be induced to cooperate with Capua-Benevento, Roman nobles and Picingli's fleet and army to expel the Arabs from the Garigliano valley. The coalition captured the Saracens' base in August 915, but did not long ssurvive its victory. Soon Landulf of Capua-Benevento and other Lombard princes were in 'rebellion', raiding Byzantine possessions in southern Italy and regaining control of much of them." In other words, hardly "worthy" of a capitalised "league".

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